JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Blackstone (NYSE:BX) Price Target to $100.00

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) had its target price decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $105.00 to $100.00 in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the asset manager’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Barclays raised their target price on Blackstone from $126.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Blackstone from $144.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Blackstone from $150.00 to $146.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen started coverage on Blackstone in a report on Thursday, January 4th. They set a market perform rating and a $118.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JMP Securities reissued a market perform rating on shares of Blackstone in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $118.92.

Blackstone Price Performance

Blackstone stock opened at $118.40 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $126.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $117.74. The firm has a market cap of $84.61 billion, a PE ratio of 41.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.99 and a beta of 1.51. Blackstone has a one year low of $79.92 and a one year high of $133.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.79 and a quick ratio of 0.80.

Blackstone (NYSE:BX) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 18th. The asset manager reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98. The firm had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.56 billion. Blackstone had a return on equity of 17.33% and a net margin of 20.84%. The company’s revenue was up 166.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Blackstone will post 4.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Blackstone Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be given a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 26th. Blackstone’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 132.86%.

Insider Transactions at Blackstone

In related news, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Sunday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $27,853,407.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,102.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Ruth Porat bought 232 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $127.08 per share, with a total value of $29,482.56. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 34,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,349,313. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Bx Buzz Ml-1 Gp Llc sold 2,509,316 shares of Blackstone stock in a transaction dated Sunday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.10, for a total value of $27,853,407.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,802 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $142,102.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,587,168 shares of company stock valued at $37,816,476. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Blackstone

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwest Financial Advisors acquired a new position in Blackstone during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 86.2% in the 4th quarter. Bourgeon Capital Management LLC now owns 216 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Roble Belko & Company Inc purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Advantage Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Blackstone in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Blackstone by 763.0% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 233 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.00% of the company’s stock.

Blackstone Company Profile

Blackstone Inc is an alternative asset management firm specializing in real estate, private equity, hedge fund solutions, credit, secondary funds of funds, public debt and equity and multi-asset class strategies. The firm typically invests in early-stage companies. It also provide capital markets services.